(AgapePress) - A
northeast Mississippi pastor says tensions between Muslims and
Christians in France are at an all-time high.

Rev. Terry Pierce,
pastor of Tupelo Free Will Baptist Church, and two other area
ministers from his denomination recently traveled to southern
France to encourage and minister to missionaries working with
Muslims in that area. Pierce says the missionaries face
difficult situations as they work with Muslims who come to France looking
for jobs, but oftentimes cannot find work.

The pastor, who
hails from southern
Illinois , encourages Christians in
America to pray for missionaries who
are trying to share the message of the gospel with the Muslims.
"Pray for them to just be encouraged as they build relationships
both in the French culture and in the Muslim community," he
says.

Pierce explains the
significance of the mission work in southern France . "We can't get missionaries
into North Africa ," he points
out, "but being at that port city, they are able to take the
gospel into there." The pastor then re-emphasizes the importance
of prayer for the missionaries' work. "We all know that the Word
is more powerful than anything else -- and so as that Word goes
into Algeria and other North African
countries, we know that God will bless them."

During his week-long
stay in
France , Pierce and others in his
group witnessed the aftermath of the recent riots carried out by
Muslim youth in the area. He also recalls his encounter with
another aspect of the "cultural warfare" he saw occurring
between the French and the Muslims.

"They have these
things called al-Salams," he says. "They'll be 30 stories tall,
with their laundry literally hanging off the balconies -- and
[the area] was so dangerous that I filmed a little bit of it
when I went through and took some pictures." He says he believes
terrorists are being recruited from that community.

According to Pastor
Pierce, the French police discourage foreigners from entering
those areas. "They tell you if you're French or if you're
American [and] you go into those areas, [they] will not come and
get you if you get caught in there," he shares.